Judi Blair Dean, a former board member and dedicated supporter of the Center for Visionary Leadership, passed away at her home in Washington, DC on Christmas Day, 2007 at the age of 63. 

Judi had been struggling with breast cancer for the past nine years, although to those who did not know her well, her condition for most of those years was imperceptible. Strong-willed and positive to the end, Judi refused to let her disease take control of her life or prevent her from continuing to be of service to others, through the causes that were dear to her. 

Although Judi had tried many therapies over these years, none had been able to ultimately halt the spread of her cancer.  She did not dwell upon it nor did she want to be treated any differently because of it.  Judi did not want pity, but she opened up more to others as a result of their loving compassion.  During this time, those who knew her commented on the fact that she seemed to become more radiant and more at peace as her physical body weakened.  Until the very end of her life, Judi’s quiet joy and cheerfulness, and her high-energy dedication to the causes and activities that mattered most to her, demonstrated to all who knew her the strong foundation of her deeply aligned inner life. 

Judi Dean grew up in a military family, and as a result travelled extensively as a child.  She married young and brought two energetic sons into the world.  Yet even as her husband’s businesses prospered and her family grew, Judi was convinced that a fulfilling and purposeful life involved making a difference beyond one’s immediate circle. 

A longtime resident of what is still largely rural Virginia near the nation’s capital, Judi worked for many years in the 70’s and 80’s as an environmental activist in Fairfax County, VA, where she organized successful grassroots efforts to protect this beautiful and historic area from overdevelopment.  During those years, she also volunteered for the Washington chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), serving as assistant publisher of the NOW Newsletter, and worked as a political aide to a progressive state legislator who is currently in line to become Majority Leader of the Virginia State Senate. 

Judi Dean’s spiritual calling began with the discovery of a little book called “The Tao Te Ching.”  Judi would often tell the story of how she read that book over and over and how it transformed her life.  She later was attracted to spiritual development courses such as  “The Science of the Soul,” and “Spiritual Politics” offered by Gordon Davidson and Corinne McLaughlin in Washington, DC in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Through these classes, she made many like-minded friends with whom she remained extremely close for the rest of her life.

These associations also led Judi to the Center for Visionary Leadership, which opened its doors in Washington, DC in 1996.  Judi worked for several years as a CVL volunteer and then as a Board member when CVL’s main headquarters was in Washington, D.C. (1996 to 2002).  She was also a generous financial contributor to the activities of the Center. 

Always spiritually adventurous, Judi became active in Theosophy, studied the works of Helena Blavatsky, Nicholas and Helena Roerich, and Alice Bailey, Lucille Cedercrans, and the practice of esoteric healing .  And for many years, and until very near the end of her life, Judi taught yoga in Fairfax County to all who were interested in it—old and young, male and female. She was a committed meditator and for 13 years belonged to a local meditation group which meets twice monthly in the Washington area. 

An avid world traveler, Judi made a special point of combining her spirituality with her desire to see the world.  Of Scottish descent, she visited the Sacred Island of Iona during a trip to Scotland in 2003, where she attended an ecumenical healing service in the restored Abbey.  She also travelled to India in 2001 and to Japan in 2002.  On both trips she sought out sacred places, meditating in the Bahai Temple in New Delhi, in the shadow of a sacred mountain in the Himalayas, near Darjeeling, India, at Mother Teresa’s house in Calcutta, and at a Zen temple in Kyoto, Japan.  

In the months just before her death, Judi was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime—the chance to travel to Tibet  with a group of like-minded spiritual people and visit many of the most sacred sites of Tibetan Buddhism.  She considered this trip to Tibet to be an important spiritual pilgrimage for her, one that likely would not be offered again.  Through her strength of will and spiritual focus, she overcame the many physical obstacles in her path and made the trip.

Despite the serious progression of her disease, which by then had begun to affect both her physical appearance and her stamina, in May and June of last year.  Judi travelled with the group by air to China and then on to Tibet by bus.  While there, she visited many temples and monasteries in and around Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, meditated at these sites on several occasions, met with groups of monks, and with the help of a tour guide, climbed the hundreds of steps to the Portala Palace, traditional home of the Dalai Lama. 

Judi’s final months were spent in and out of hospitals and convalescing at her eldest son’s home in Washington.  Despite her illness, she and her son opened their home and offered hospitality to a group of visiting Tibetan monks. 

Judi's death was a profound teaching to all who knew her.  The book, “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” by Sogyal Rinpoche, was a great help and solace to her.  Even though she was in and out of lucid states of consciousness at the end, Judi was very courageous in her responses to those around her and set her affairs in order.  While she lay dying, Judi stayed in a deep sleep yet was conscious of what was going on when visitors came, and reported no pain whatsoever up until a few days before her death.  This is highly unusual for someone in Stage IV cancer.

Close friends visited Judi on Christmas Day and said the rosary with her just a few hours before she passed away.  A memorial service was held December 28^th, at the home of one of her sons who lives in Washington DC.  Over 200 persons attended, drawn from all aspects and stages of her life—business contacts, fellow world travelers, and spiritual and political co-workers.  They all came together to share memories and to celebrate Judi’s life.  A large number of heart-felt eulogies were offered that recognized Judi’s profound commitment to her political and spiritual principles.  Her adult sons, William and Eric, both spoke deeply about her role in their lives and the example she set for them and for her grandchildren.

Consistent with her wishes, last rites in the Buddhist tradition will be offered for Judi Dean at a Tibetan monastery outside Washington, D.C. later this month.  Before her passing, Judi made several special bequests to a Tibetan orphanage and to a monastery in India which trains young Tibetan monks. 

Judi Dean was truly an example of a “visionary leader”, consistent with her life-long commitment to servant-leadership.  The course of her life showed a clear evolution, not only in terms of her commitment to the needs of others and to her political activism in support of progressive causes, but in her spiritual growth and commitment.  And Judi’s approach to death and dying mirrored her approach to life and living—with a clear focus not on herself and her own needs, but rather on the needs of others, and on timeless issues greater than herself.